Why aren't these shots in focus?

[rambler]

OOOPS...Of course, I meant to refer to 1/125 as shutter speed...here is another rule of thumb explained by others with more savy than moi.
"A common rule of thumb for estimating how fast the exposure needs to be for a given focal length is the one over focal length rule. This states that for a 35 mm camera, the exposure time needs to be at least as fast as one over the focal length in seconds. In other words, when using a 200 mm focal length on a 35 mm camera, the exposure time needs to be at least 1/200 seconds — otherwise blurring may be hard to avoid. See the tutorial on reducing camera shake with hand-held photos for more on this topic."

Click on that link to goto Cambridge in Colour, an informative website you might want to join.

 

[STIC]

...

 

[crotonmark]

As everyone else has said...you'll suck, then...you'll get a bit better, then you'll get adventurous and suck again...then you'll get better...

All i can say is, thank god you didn't start like i did...with a film SLR and an interest in drag racing...you know how disappointing it is getting your photos back a week later to find the blurry back end of a drag car at the leading edge of every single shot of an otherwise empty drag strip?

I brought a book (showing my age here) and went through it, taking photos as per instructions (and i took notes on settings for each shot)...

You have a great tool there, in that you can instantly see if it 'worked'...

Get a tripod and a remote shutter cable or wireless (they are cheap as now) and practice shots of fast, mid and slow shutter speeds while keeping F and ISO the same...

Then, shoot at the same speed and ISO and change f-stop with each shot...

Study what happens and this SHOULD give you a better idea of what does what...

After all, you're not paying for developing are you?

Also, in case of self doubt, i was where you are (see the drag car photos comment) and i have subsequently worked as a motorsport photographer...so it DOES get easier...

Thanks STIC!